India in talks to recognise rebel Twenty20 tournament

English county professionals eager to grab a share of the booty in Indian Twenty20 cricket were speculating excitedly last night about whether the Indian board was ready to agree a truce with the Indian Cricket League - the rogue Twenty20 competition which it has striven to destroy.

Any agreement from the Indian board to abandon hostilities against the ICL, which it has opposed from the outset to protect its own Indian Premier League, would lead to a rush of interest from top county players who have so far shunned the tournament for fear of wrecking their chances of playing for England. Although the England and Wales Cricket Board cannot ban English professionals from taking part, it has risked the wrath of sports lawyers by hinting that their England chances might wane as a result.

The commitment to meet ICL representatives came from the president of the Indian board, Shashank Manohar, at an International Cricket Council board meeting in Dubai yesterday. It brought a warm response from Zee TV, which is bankrolling the tournament. Himanshu Mody, Zee's head of sports, said: "It's a good thing. We are looking forward to meeting the Indian board and taking forward our request for official recognition."

Only one England player - Dimitri Mascarenhas - played in the opening season of the official IPL because the dates clashed with England commitments. The English counties have also suffered badly from the sanctions taken against the lesser tournament, the ICL. Kent have been excluded from the inaugural Champions League in December, despite finishing runners-up to Middlesex in the Twenty20 Cup, because they had fielded non-English players who had taken part in the ICL.

Now there is a glimmer of hope that things may change. But England's county pros would be best advised not to get too excited. The clever money in India last night was on the likelihood that the Indian board is merely playing for time while the ICC draws up new rules concerning what constitutes official cricket.

Lalit Modi, the power behind the IPL, and the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, are both members of an ICC subcommittee that is drawing up a legally watertight definition of official cricket. Until that is finalised the ICL will be allowed its meetings. The ICC is empowered to overrule a national board in deciding what constitutes official cricket.

England's four-Test series against West Indies this winter will continue the use of the appeals system against umpiring decisions. The system, trialled during the recent series between India and Sri Lanka, allows a side up to three appeals per innings.